JUVENTUS BEAT SAMPDORIA TO CLAIM NINTH SCUDETTO

Juventus bagged their ninth consecutive Serie A title on Sunday after a 2-0 win over Sampdoria that put them over the line with two matches to spare. Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 31st goal of the season before Federico Bernardeschi sealed the victory in the second half as another Scudetto is heading to I Bianconeri.

Despite Ronaldo missed a late penalty, Maurizio Sarri's side moved seven points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan to seal a 36th title.

The 'Scudetto' is Sarri's first and extends a record run which Antonio Conte started with three titles from 2012 and Massimiliano Allegri continued with the following five. Sarri's team had missed the chance to wrap up the title on Thursday when the 'Old Lady' of Italian football fell to a 2-1 defeat at Udinese.

But they made no mistake at the Allianz Stadium despite being pushed hard by Claudio Ranieri's Sampdoria, one of the most in-form teams since the return of Serie A from the three-month coronavirus lockdown.

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REAL MADRID WIN FIRST LA LIGA IN THREE YEARS

Real Madrid clinched their first La Liga title in three years after they edged past Villarreal at an empty Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium. Zinedine Zidane says winning the title this season made him happier than winning the Champions League.

Karim Benzema scored between the legs of Sergio Asenjo and added a controversial second from a retaken penalty. In bizarre fashion, Sergio Ramos had rolled the first attempt for Benzema to smash in but the effort was disallowed. Vicente Iborra pulled one back but it did not stop Real to wrap-up their 34th Spanish title. 

Zidane's side have won all 10 of their matches since Spanish football restarted in June. They head into the final day of the season with an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Barcelona.

Behind closed doors in a 6,000-seat stadium at the club's training complex is perhaps not the stage for the grand crowning Real would have imagined for their first title since 2017. But that did not stop Zidane's squad pulling on shirts with "Campeones 34" printed on the back before lifting the trophy in celebration as ticker tape fell over the pitch.

La Liga titles have been in shorter supply than Champions League triumphs for Real this decade, with this only their third in the past nine seasons. They won three successive European Cups in Zidane's first tenure but had recorded successive third-place finishes since their previous domestic title, as Barcelona were crowned champions.

Zidane was in charge the last time they won the league and made it his aim to reclaim the title after returning midway through the last campaign - less than a year after his departure.

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M-LEAGUE TO RESTART IN SEPTEMBER

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) is planning to resume the Malaysia League in September. However, all matches will be played behind closed doors.

The season was suspended on March 16, two days before the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the September restart will also depend on the situation then. If the M-League is not allowed to resume in September, the season will be called off.

Due to time constraints, the home-and-away format for the Super League and the Premier League has been scrapped. Teams will now play each other only once, meaning the champions of the Super League and Premier League will be decided after 11 rounds of matches. According to MFL plan, the Super League and Premier League will start on Sept 1 or 2 and end on Sept 26 or 27.

The MFL has also changed the format of the Malaysia Cup by dropping the group stage. The 16-team competition, comprising 11 Super League teams and five Premier League sides, will now be a knockout tournament. The Malaysia Cup starts on Oct 17 or 18 and ends on Nov 7. However, this year's FA Cup and Challenge Cup have been scrapped.

MALAYSIAN LEAGUE POSTPONED OVER COVID-19 CONCERNS

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) and Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) today announced that all 2020 Malaysian League (M-League) matches scheduled from Monday (March 16) will be postponed due to Covid-19.

FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin announced the decision at a press conference after chairing a special meeting on the Covid-19 pandemic here today. However, Hamidin said all Premier League and Super League matches for this week (Friday-Sunday) will still be played but in empty stadiums (without spectators).

“The decision is taken in the interest of all players, teams and supporters involved directly with the national football arena.”

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI), sponsors and M-League partners.

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Hamidin, who is also MFL president, said the decision also involved other local competitions organised by FAM and MFL – including the President’s Cup, Youth Cup, Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL), as well as the M3 and M4 competitions.

On other development, Hamidin also confirmed there would be no player call-up for the national squad training camp and cancellation of friendly matches for the national squad during the FIFA international matches window this month.

“The national team will not have a friendly match and there will be no call-up to for centralised training as planned,”

Shopee had ceased ticket sales for the M-League matches following MFL’s announcement to play the matches behind closed doors due to Covid-19 concerns.

The e-commerce platform said those who had purchased tickets for Super League matches between Petaling Jaya (PJ City) FC and Terengganu FC; Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) against Felda United FC as well as the tie between Kedah and Selangor via the platform, can get a full refund latest by Wednesday.

QATAR IS THE NEW ASIAN CUP CHAMPIONS

Qatar won their first ever Asian Cup after defeating Japan 3-1 in the final at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi. The Gulf side, making a first appearance in the final, sealed the title through goals from Almoez Ali, Abdulaziz Hatem and Akram Afif. Takumi Minamino pulled back with a goal for Japan, but not enough to deny Qatar from winning.

Qatar took the lead with a spectacular bicycle kick by Almoez Ali in the 12th minute. The goal is his ninth in the tournament, took him past Iranian Ali Daei's 1996 tally. Then, Abdulaziz Hatem doubled the lead for Qatar with a long-distance strike in the 27th minute.

Japan got back into the game in the 69th minute after Takumi Minamino beat Saad Al Sheeb. It is the first goal Qatar had conceded in the tournament.

However with eight minutes remaining, Qatar sealed the victory.  Akram Afif converted a penalty after a handball by Japan captain Maya Yoshida.

Qatar have shown a huge improvement at this tournament. They look set to compete against the best in the world at the World Cup 2022. But for now, the new Asian Champions will focus on the Copa America 2019.

QATAR SET FOR FINAL SHOWDOWN AGAINST JAPAN

Qatar hammered hosts United Arab Emirates to reach the Asian Cup football final. Dubbed the Blockade Derby, the match was the first meeting between the two regional rivals since the start of the Gulf crisis.

Qatar opened the scoring with Boualem Khoukhi in the 22nd minute with Almoez Ali adding a second 15 minutes later. Hassan al-Haydos added a third in the 80th minute with a chip over the UAE goal-keeper and Ismaeil sealed Qatar's progress with a goal in injury time.

The match was marred by crowd disruptions twice where shoes and bottles were thrown at Qatari players celebrating after scoring. Qatar's qualify to the title match for the first time where it will face Japan on Friday.

JAPAN CRUISE INTO FIFTH ASIAN CUP FINAL

Japan stunned favourites Iran 3-0 in the Asian Cup semi-finals to move one win away from their fifth title on Monday. Iran have been in excellent form at this tournament with 12 unanswered goals en route to the semis.

Werder Bremen striker Yuya Osako opened the scoring in the 56th minute and added his second from the penalty spot. Genki Haraguchi then scored in stoppage time to complete the victory.

A sad exit for Iran as Japan reached their fifth final in the last 8 tournaments. The Samurai Blue will face either hosts United Arab Emirates or Qatar in Friday's final in Abu Dhabi.

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VIETNAM END DROUGHT WITH SECOND AFF CUP VICTORY

Vietnam ended their ten years wait to win the AFF Suzuki Cup after beating Malaysia 1-0 in the tournament’s final second-leg at My Dinh Stadium. After the 2-2 draw in the first leg at the National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Vietnam carried two away goals advantage for the final 90 minutes in Hanoi. Nguyen Anh Duc turned hero for the home side as he scored the only goal in the sixth minute after receiving a cross from midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai.

Malaysia pressed for an equaliser but the score remained until the final whistle. Vietnam survived the thrilling encounter with a deserving 1-0 victory. They are officially the champions of AFF Suzuki Cup 2018, beating Malaysia 3-2 on aggregate after the two legs. This is the first AFF Cup championship title in a decade for Vietnam and also only their second in history.

They lifted the trophy right after the match and the fans celebrated throughout the night. Midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai was named the Most Valuable Player award for his outstanding performance. Malaysia’s heroic journey in the tournament came to a heartbreaking end, but they can still be proud to be the second best in South East Asia.

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OZIL LEAD ARSENAL TO VICTORY OVER PSG IN PRE SEASON MATCH

Arsenal secured a comfortable International Champions Cup win over Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday. Captained by Mesut Ozil, the Gunners named more experienced players in the line-up compared to their opponent.

Ozil gave the Gunners the lead in his first appearance of the pre-season. However, it was cancelled out when Sead Kolasinac fouled Timothy Weah, and Christopher Nkunku scored the equaliser for the inexperienced French side. Alexandre Lacazette struck twice within four minutes to put Arsenal in control again. Then Rob Holding scored with a header from 18 yards and Eddie Nketiah added gloss to the victory.

It was an exciting pre season match for the fans as Arsenal had named a far stronger side than Thomas Tuchel’s PSG, who had only four senior players in a line-up that included 40-year-old summer signing Gianluigi Buffon.

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ATLETICO BEAT ARSENAL AT INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS CUP

Arsenal prospect Emile Smith Rowe scored a superb solo goal to earn his team a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the International Champions Cup as Unai Emery was treated to a showcase of the potential in his squad.

​The goal cancelled out Luciano Vietto's opener for Atletico, who were without the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez but nevertheless exposed Arsenal's defensive frailties on occasion and looked the better organised of the two teams.

However, Arsenal's young guns failed to fire in the penalty shoot-out, though, with Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah missing their spot-kicks along with Henrikh Mkhitaryan

as Atletico triumphed 3-1.